


in her belly

by PersephoneHemingway



Category: Firefly, Serenity (2005)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Discussion of Abortion, Drabble, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Not Canon Compliant, One Shot, Pregnancy, Reader-Insert, Self-Indulgent, Short One Shot, Unplanned Pregnancy, is cursing a warning tag because that's definitely a thing, mandarin chinese via google translate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-10 08:09:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20524757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PersephoneHemingway/pseuds/PersephoneHemingway
Summary: a fight, a secret, a reveal.





	in her belly

Someone always had to go and try to steal the damn thing first.

"Alrighty. Time to go be big damn heroes."

So right, firefight.

Guns blazin', dual pistols out to play.

Nothing like an adrenaline rush to forget the more life-changing problems on your mind—although if you didn't start moving quick you were gonna have another kind of life-changing problem on your hands.

&

Blood. Blood was on your hands.

You never were much use in close-quarters; you liked to keep your distance, shoot your shots, and blow the barrels like an old-timey movie star.

Too bad for you, the dust-bowl hidey-hole the goods had been shacked up in was not your idea of advantageous terrain.

Too many shots too loud—too many crates with too many unfriendly-types lurking behind them...

Your guns were pointed out in two different directions when some sneaky bastard popped right up in fronta you and cracked your nose with the butt of a very dirty gun.

A second more and you would've seen the guy drop dead from a helpful bullet to the temple, but you were a bit busy being knocked out cold.

&

Zoe hauled your sorry ass to the med bay back on _Serenity_ despite your protests. She wanted Simon to replace her emergency patch-ups with better dressings and check for anything more serious she might have missed— _‘let’s take advantage of having a doctor on board, yeah (Y/N)_?’

Simon was immediately panicked upon seeing you battered and leaning heavily on Zoe for support. She maneuvered you into a chair while Simon dashed toward you.

"Oh _tàikōng suǒyǒu de xīngqiú sāi jǐn wǒ de pìgu,_ (Y/N), what did you-"

Zoe slipped out quickly to dodge any fiery words.

"I took the butt of a revolver to the face, Simon, I wasn't eviscerated. I’m a touch dizzy, though."

"And your hand?"

"My hand?" You looked down to your hand, noticeably bandaged, and winced as you tried to close it into a fist. "Oh. Yeah, something must've got me there too, huh?"

Simon let out a frustrated sigh and went to a cabinet to fish for supplies.

"You shouldn't have even been out there! I told you no missions! You were supposed to stay on _Serenity_!"

"And where, pray tell, do you get off tellin' my best shooter to stand down doin' a Robin Hood heist?"

"Captain, it's-"

"Captain, you say? That's me, right? (Y/N/N) might've gotten a little banged up, but it's nothin' she can't handle. I'm the one who says who goes where, and she always does right shiny out there with us 'nd the big guns. No need for you to worry 'bout my girl, doctor."

"But Mal, there's something else-"

"I'm peachy, Simon, trust." The look in your eyes fiercely said _don't you say shit, doctor-boy_. River kindly translated.

"She wants to keep her secrets in her belly. Don't cut her open too soon."

"But the b-"

"What's Miss Crazy on ‘bout this time?" Jayne leaned into the room while chomping down on a chicken leg.

Simon sighed, and looked your way pointedly.

"(Y/N), you need to tell him."

A scoff. "Uh, I don't _need_ to do anything! _Jièyì nǐ zìjǐ gāisǐ de shēngyì_!" You stormed your way out towards Inara's shuttle. She had tea. She knew.

&

"(Y/N)."

Of course you weren't getting out of this conversation. Of course he knew where you'd go to cool off. _Of course_ he'd be waiting for you just outside the door.

"Captain?"

"What the _tā mā dì dìyù_ is going on?"

You sighed. "Don't worry 'bout it Mal, I got it handled."

"_Pìhuà, baobei_. Spit it out."

He was blocking the only exit, but you tried to slip through anyway. He caught you by the upper arms easy and crowded you into a corner.

"Don't think you're gettin' outta this not explainin'."

"Mal, please..."

_He'll hate me he'll hate me he'll hate me...  
_

"C'mon."

"Drop it Mal, lemme go..." Your voice diminished with every word.

"No. You tell me what's got you all upset, (Y/N/N)."

"Mal..."

"(Y/N), _now_."

"I'm pregnant..." It was barely a whisper, but by the look in his eye you knew he heard. He was _stone._ You panicked. He dropped his grip, you waved your arms around, wildly placating.

"B-but don't worry about a thing! I've got it handled, I've-I've already arranged passage to Sihnon tomorrow and Inara gave me some contacts-"

"No! What? No. No, no, please don't." He knew what you were suggesting, and it snapped him back quick. "Not if you're only doing it because you think it's what I want you to do. Because I don't. If it's what you want-"

"No, no it isn't, I-"

"I mean I can’t stop you; it's, in _you_ and all, and I won’t stick my nose where I shouldn’t, but... please don't?"

"Really, Mal? Honest? You- you wanna keep it?" Your hope was deafening.

"Honest, _baobei_."

You collapsed under the weight of your emotion and a dry sob was wrenched from your body in relief. You clung to Mal's arms and he dropped down with you, pulling you close. Then the tears started.

"S'okay, you're okay, we're okay. _Hǎo de_?"

"_Hǎo de_."

He peppered little kisses all over the top of your head and down your face, soaking up saltwater before your lips connected with deep emotion. When you broke apart, Mal gently pushed you onto your back and lifted your shirt to expose your not-yet-showing stomach. He sucked kiss after kiss onto your belly in between whispered _I love yous_.

It tickled, and you laughed into the night.

**Author's Note:**

> hello i'm pro-choice, friends  
but yeah I'm a hoe for unplanned pregnancy fics, i don’t even fucking know, bc it's not like i ever want kids lol
> 
> shout out to google translate, firefly articles, and wikipedia for the colorful chinese phrases  
no idea how accurate they are, but hey i tried
> 
> tàikōng suǒyǒu de xīngqiú sāi jǐn wǒ de pìgu – shove all the planets in the universe up my ass  
jièyì nǐ zìjǐ gāisǐ de shēngyì – mind your own damn business  
tā mā dì dìyù – fucking hell  
pìhuà – bullshit  
baobei – equivalent of baby / precious / darling  
hǎo de - okay
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_Chinese_profanity  
https://www.toplessrobot.com/2010/11/fireflys_15_best_uses_of_chinese_profanity.php/12


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